The NBA dynasties are dead, parity is the king, and if the 2025 playoffs have taught us something, is to expect the unexpected. The NBA will have a different champion for the seventh consecutive year, something that has never happened in the history of the League. Commissioner Adam Silver sought to create parity by implementing rules changes in the new collective bargaining agreement, and is working more effectively than anyone could anticipate.
There are FOUR TEAMS LEFT STANDING IN THE 2025 NBA PLAYOFS, AND NONE OF THEM HAV WON A CHAMPIONSHIP Since the NBA/ABA MERGER IN 1976. THE NEW YORK KNICKS FACE THE INDIAN PACERS IN A REMATCH OF THE 2000 EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS, WHILE THE OVES. Owhats, While The Owhats, While The Owahoma Whilahomas, While The Olahoma, While The Owahoma, While The Olahoma, while the Olahoma, while Olahoma. Square-off in the west. The Knicks are the only franchise to hang a championship flag among the four teams that dates back, and that was in 1973.
The four teams really feel they have the opportunity to win everything. We chose Thunder on Celtics in the NBA finals of 2025 at the beginning of the playoffs. Too much for that. Here is a new set of predictions as the conference ends are launched.
Indiana Pacers vs. New York Knicks
The Knicks beat the Pacers 2-1 in the regular season series by a margin of +27 in the three games. One of those victories came with Myes Turner for Indiana, while another came with Andrew Nembhard Marginado. It feels silly to get too many conclusions from the regular season when so much about the Indiana game has changed after a slow start. The Pacers began the year 9-14 in general, but closed the regular season in a 41-18 kick that extends to 49-20 if it includes the playoffs.
The big question in this series is whether the Knicks offensive can follow the rhythm of Indiana’s high power attack. New York has published an offensive rating of 110.7 so far in the playoffs, while the Pacers are at 117.3. The defense of the Knicks has been slightly better than the Pacers in the playoffs with a defensive rating of 110.6 compared to 111.9 for Indiana, but trying to slow down Indiana presents unique challenges.
It is easy to distill this series to Tyrese Haliburton vs. Jalen Brunson. Star Point guards do a lot for their teams, and both are absolute superstars in Crunch’s time. Haliburton does his best job as a pin pushing the rhythm and hitting teammates with cross -country passes while avoiding ball losses. Brunson is almost unstoppable by scoring in isolation. I would expect Brunson to protect Nembhard, and Haliburton defends Josh Hart or Mikal Bridges during most of the series, but each star will face the other when they can. Whatever the head of the Knicks, Haliburton on him has to crash the offensive vessel as crazy.
The impulse and impulse of the transition defense against offensive rebounds will be fascinating in this series. Knicks like to attack offensive glass, especially with their alignment of two rails with Mitchell Robinson. New York will look for second chance opportunities, but if the Pacers are lost, they will go to the races on the other side. Indiana’s exclusive feature is its ability to push the tempo, and every Knick that is made for an offensive rebound means that a player less returns to the defensive.
The Knicks player faces the greatest pressure of this series is Karl-Anthony Towns. The Pacers are a two elite points shooting team after hitting 56.8 percent of their shots inside the arch in the regular season, which held the 4th position in the League. Indiana will test the protection of the edge of the cities, and will need to stay strong in the painting and avoid silly offenses. Towns also has the potential to open the series offensively if it is at its best. New York needs Kat to heat up and stay hot.
The Knicks path to win this series begins with hitting the offensive vessel and hunting Haliburton on the defensive side. New York should feel good with wings clashes here: OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart vs. Nemhard, Aaron Nesmith and Pascal Siakam, but there is no doubt that Indiana has a better depth and fresher legs in the series. New York has more high -end talent on paper, but Indiana’s role -playing players are playing at a super tall level at this time, and Haliburton has a special ability to prepare them for easy cubes. I hope this is a classic, but I favor Indiana, even with the Knicks with an advantage of Homecourt.
Prediction: 7 pacemaker
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
This season has or has felt like a long coronation of the greatness of Thunder, but, of course, the playoffs are rarely so easy for such a young team. Denver took him to OKC on the edge of Denver in the second round, and needed that Aaron was limited by an injury to the hamstrings in game 7 before they really seems the best team in the series. The wolves never faced so much uncertainty in their own confrontation of the second round because they obtained their fate of injuries immediately. Stephen Curry was limited to 13 minutes in total in the series with his own pull of the hamstrings, which allowed Minnesota to cost an easy victory of five games.
Wolves and thunder have more in common than a kind of well -timed injuries. Both are led by young dynamic guards of young people in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards, both have strong banks full of their own harvest pieces, and both are mainly in their ultra physics defense. Minnesota had the best defense of the league last season. The Thunder had the best defense of the league this season. The winner of this series will be the favorite in the NBA finals, and both technical staff have many buttons to press while looking for an advantage.
Thunder’s defense is Trump’s best letter. The ability of OKC to force ball losses is something that no other team in the NBA can approach the game. The Thunder kept Alex Caruso on ice most of the season before unleashing him in the playoffs, and has already won multiple games in the postseason. Caruso’s defense was the key to detaining Nikola Jokic in game 7, and is about to be unleashed in Julius Randle. Caruso always did a good job slowing Randle when he was in Chicago and Randle was in New York, and that is something that OKC can close the best secondary scorer in Minnesota.
The wolves still have Anthony Edwards in the controls, and he has shown great growth as a decision maker in this postseason. OKC is well equipped to defend it with Lu Dort, Cason Wallace and Jalen Williams, each one in each. The Thunder can accelerate even the best opposite handlers, and will prove Edwards’ patience. The wolves have been a high -rotation team throughout the year, and that makes Thunder a bad specific confrontation for them. When OKC forces the conclusions at its usual level, the opposition has no possibility.
The wolves also have many strong defenders to launch Gilgeous-Alexander while boasting the best set of the game behind them in Rudy Gobert. SGA will see Jaden McDaniels, Edwards and his cousin Nickeil Alexander-Walker through this series. Minnesota prefers to play fall coverage against the Pick-And-Roll with Gobert, but the Denver area was so effective the last round that should prove it. Jalen Williams probably cannot be worse than him against Nuggets after ending Horry 41.5 percent of true shots for the series. Chet Holmgren did not have a great series against Denver, and his confrontation with Randle will be a confrontation or a fascinating length versus force.
The reality for Thunder is that Williams and Holmgren can fight and no matter as long as they continue to forge ball losses like this. If one of the two co -star can intensify every night and OKC players hit their three open, it will be difficult to score enough against the defense of Thunder to overcome them four times. Minnesota has to shoot a super tall percentage from the corners, and Edwards will have to overcome SGA so that the wolves have a chance. Don’t have that. The Thunder already survived what seemed its most difficult series, and are now ready to return to the NBA finals for the first time from the Durant-Westbrooook-Harden era.
Prediction: Thunder in 6
2025 confrontation prediction of the NBA finals: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Indiana Pacers
